U.S. patent application number 16/005821 was filed with the patent office on 2018-10-11 for conveyor device.
This patent application is currently assigned to IHI Corporation. The applicant listed for this patent is IHI Corporation. Invention is credited to Noriaki HASEGAWA, Kensuke HIRATA, Mareto ISHIBASHI, Yoshiyuki WADA.
Application Number | 20180290850 16/005821 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 54554139 |
Filed Date | 2018-10-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180290850 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
ISHIBASHI; Mareto ; et
al. |
October 11, 2018 |
CONVEYOR DEVICE
Abstract
The present disclosure is a conveyor device which feeds a thin
workpiece from an unwinding roll and conveys the thin workpiece on
a conveyance path. The conveyor device includes first movable
holding members, fixed holding members, a cutting device, second
movable holding members, a first position sensor, and a first
correction mechanism.
Inventors: |
ISHIBASHI; Mareto; (Tokyo,
JP) ; WADA; Yoshiyuki; (Tokyo, JP) ; HIRATA;
Kensuke; (Tokyo, JP) ; HASEGAWA; Noriaki;
(Tokyo, JP) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
IHI Corporation |
Tokyo |
|
JP |
|
|
Assignee: |
IHI Corporation
Tokyo
JP
|
Family ID: |
54554139 |
Appl. No.: |
16/005821 |
Filed: |
June 12, 2018 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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15198167 |
Jun 30, 2016 |
|
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16005821 |
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PCT/JP2015/064735 |
May 22, 2015 |
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15198167 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65H 2406/112 20130101;
B65H 20/06 20130101; B65H 35/06 20130101; B65H 2301/51532 20130101;
B65H 2301/5151 20130101; B65H 2301/331 20130101; B65H 2301/4422
20130101; B65H 20/18 20130101; B65H 23/10 20130101; B65H 23/032
20130101; B65H 2701/132 20130101; B65H 23/0326 20130101; B65H 35/04
20130101 |
International
Class: |
B65H 20/18 20060101
B65H020/18; B65H 35/06 20060101 B65H035/06; B65H 23/10 20060101
B65H023/10; B65H 35/04 20060101 B65H035/04; B65H 20/06 20060101
B65H020/06; B65H 23/032 20060101 B65H023/032 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
May 23, 2014 |
JP |
2014-107449 |
Claims
1. A conveyor device which feeds a thin workpiece from an unwinding
roll and conveys the thin workpiece on a conveyance path, the
conveyor device comprising: a pair of first movable holding members
configured to detachably hold tip-side end sections at both sides
of the thin workpiece fed on the conveyance path and convey the
thin workpiece on the conveyance path; a pair of fixed holding
members configured to detachably hold end sections at both sides of
a side of the unwinding roll of the thin workpiece fed on the
conveyance path; a cutting device configured to cut the thin
workpiece in a width direction thereof between the first movable
holding members and the fixed holding members; a pair of second
movable holding members configured to detachably hold end sections
at both sides closer to a tip side of the thin workpiece conveyed
by the first movable holding members than the end sections at both
sides held by the first movable holding member at the tip side
thereof and further convey the thin workpiece on the conveyance
path; a first position sensor provided between the unwinding roll
and the first movable holding members and configured to detect a
position in the width direction of the thin workpiece fed from the
unwinding roll; and a first correction mechanism configured to
correct a position of the unwinding roll in a direction
perpendicular to an unwinding direction based on a detection result
of the first position sensor.
2. The conveyor device according to claim 1, further comprising: a
second position sensor provided near positions of the first movable
holding members and closer to an upstream side in a conveyance
direction of the thin workpiece than the first movable holding
members and configured to detect a position in the width direction
of the thin workpiece; and a third correction mechanism configured
to correct positions of the first movable holding members in a
direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the thin
workpiece based on a detection result of the second position
sensor.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 15/198,167, filed Jun. 30, 2016, which is
Continuation of International Application No. PCT/JP2015/064735,
filed May 22, 2015 claiming the priority of Japanese Patent
Application No. 2014-107449, filed May 23, 2014. The benefit of
priority is claimed to each of the foregoing, and the entire
contents of each of the foregoing are incorporated herein by
reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present disclosure relates to a conveyor device.
BACKGROUND
[0003] In recent years, for example, an ultra-thin glass or resin
sheet with a thickness of 1 mm or less, or the like is used for
various products. Generally, when a thin workpiece made of such a
glass or resin sheet is fed (unwound) from, for example, an
unwinding roll and is cut at a predetermined dimension, the thin
workpiece is conveyed (fed) from the unwinding roll by a
predetermined length, and the thin workpiece is cut by a cutting
device.
[0004] It is necessary to prevent contamination due to adhesion of
foreign substances, or the like in the case of a thin workpiece
with high transparency like the thin workpiece made of the glass or
resin sheet. Therefore, when such a thin workpiece is conveyed, in
particular, it is preferable to convey a product quality area
corresponding to a central portion in a width direction of the thin
workpiece in a noncontact manner. Also, in the case of the thin
workpiece, not only is simple prevention of contamination required,
but also high accuracy is required for a cut dimension in many
cases.
[0005] However, when the thin workpiece is conveyed in a noncontact
manner, the thin workpiece is shifted at the time of unwinding or
meandered at the time of conveying so that the thin workpiece is
unlikely to be normally disposed with respect to the cutting device
when cut by the cutting device. For example, the thin workpiece is
obliquely disposed with respect to the cutting device so that the
thin workpiece is unlikely to be cut to a desired shape and
dimension. Thus, in the related art, when the thin workpiece is
conveyed, meandering of the thin workpiece is controlled using, for
example, tilting of a turn bar (for example, refer to Patent
Document 1).
DOCUMENTS OF THE PRIOR ART
Patent Documents
[Patent Document 1]
[0006] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication
No. 2000-86034
SUMMARY
[0007] However, when meandering of a thin workpiece is controlled
using tilting of a turn bar as described above, the tilting control
of the turn bar is very complicated. Thus, it is difficult to
eliminate the meandering of the thin workpiece. In other words, it
is difficult to cut the thin workpiece to a high-precision shape
and dimension.
[0008] The present disclosure was made in view of the
above-described circumstances, and an object of the present
disclosure is to provide a conveyor device capable of conveying a
thin workpiece in a noncontact manner as well as of accurately
cutting the thin workpiece at a desired cut shape and cut
dimension.
[0009] In order to accomplish the above-described objects, in the
present disclosure, a conveyor device which feeds a thin workpiece
from an unwinding roll and conveys the thin workpiece on a
conveyance path includes: a pair of first movable holding members
configured to detachably hold tip-side end sections at both sides
of the thin workpiece fed on the conveyance path and convey the
thin workpiece on the conveyance path; a pair of fixed holding
members configured to detachably hold end sections at both sides of
a side of the unwinding roll of the thin workpiece fed on the
conveyance path; a cutting device configured to cut the thin
workpiece in a width direction thereof between the first movable
holding members and the fixed holding members; a pair of second
movable holding members configured to detachably hold end sections
at both sides closer to a tip side of the thin workpiece conveyed
by the first movable holding members than the end sections at both
sides held by the first movable holding member at the tip side
thereof and further convey the thin workpiece on the conveyance
path; a first position sensor provided between the unwinding roll
and the first movable holding members and configured to detect a
position in the width direction of the thin workpiece fed from the
unwinding roll; and an unwinding position correction mechanism
configured to correct a position of the unwinding roll in a
direction perpendicular to an unwinding direction based on a
detection result of the first position sensor.
[0010] According to the conveyor device of the present disclosure,
the unwinding position correction mechanism configured to correct
the position of an unwinding roll in a direction perpendicular to
an unwinding direction based on a detection result of the first
position sensor is provided. Thus, when a thin workpiece is shifted
or meandered at the time of the unwinding, and thus the thin
workpiece is shifted in a width direction with respect to a preset
position, the position shift of the thin workpiece is detected by
the first position sensor so that the position shift of the thin
workpiece can be corrected by the unwinding position correction
mechanism configured to correct the position of the unwinding roll.
Therefore, the thin workpiece can be accurately cut by the cutting
device at a desired dimension. Also, the tip-side end sections at
both sides of the thin workpiece are detachably held by the pair of
first movable holding members, and the end sections at both sides
closer to the tip side thereof than the end sections at both sides
held by the first movable holding members at the tip side of the
thin workpiece conveyed by the first movable holding members are
detachably held by the pair of second movable holding members.
Thus, the thin workpiece can be conveyed in a substantially
noncontact manner.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic constitution of a
first embodiment of a conveyor device related to the present
disclosure.
[0012] FIG. 2 is a side view showing the schematic constitution of
the first embodiment of the conveyor device related to the present
disclosure.
[0013] FIG. 3 is a side view for describing a schematic
constitution of a fixed holding member.
[0014] FIG. 4 is a view for describing a schematic constitution of
a first movable holding member.
[0015] FIG. 5 is a plan view for describing an operation of the
conveyor device shown in FIG. 1.
[0016] FIG. 6 is a plan view for describing an operation of the
conveyor device shown in FIG. 1.
[0017] FIG. 7 is a plan view for describing an operation of the
conveyor device shown in FIG. 1.
[0018] FIG. 8 is a plan view for describing an operation of the
conveyor device shown in FIG. 1.
[0019] FIG. 9 is a view for describing a fixed holding member and a
fixed holding member position correction mechanism related to a
second embodiment.
[0020] FIG. 10 is a view for describing a first movable holding
member and a movable holding member position correction mechanism
related to a third embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0021] Hereinafter, a conveyor device of the present disclosure
will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note
that a scale of each member is appropriately changed to give a
distinguishable size to each member in the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic constitution of a first
embodiment of a conveyor device related to the present disclosure.
FIG. 2 is a side view showing the schematic constitution of the
first embodiment of the conveyor device related to the present
disclosure. Reference numeral 1 indicates the conveyor device in
FIGS. 1 and 2.
[0022] The conveyor device 1 is a device configured to convey thin
workpieces W which are each made of, for example, an ultra-thin
glass or resin sheet with a thickness of 1 mm or less, or the like
in a noncontact state. The "noncontact state" described here does
not mean that the conveyor device 1 does not fully come into
contact with the thin workpiece W but means that the conveyor
device 1 does not come into contact with a product quality area of
the thin workpiece W. In other words, in the thin workpiece W,
generally, a central portion of the thin workpiece W is the product
quality area. Thus, it is common to prevent such a product quality
area from being directly held. Therefore, in this thin workpiece W,
generally, a non-product quality area corresponding to a
circumferential section referred to as a "flange" located at an
outside of the product quality area, that is, end sections at both
sides in a width direction of a width with about 5 mm to 10 mm, is
a region which is directly held.
[0023] The conveyor device 1 in the embodiment is a device which
does not directly hold the product quality area of the thin
workpiece W in that way and directly holds only the end sections at
both sides in a width direction of the thin workpiece W serving as
the non-product quality area and conveys it. In other words, as
shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the conveyor device 1 includes an unwinding
roll 2, a conveyance path 3 configured to convey the thin workpiece
W fed from the unwinding roll 2, a pair of fixed holding members 4,
a pair of first movable holding members 5, a cutting device 6, and
a pair of second movable holding members 7.
[0024] As shown in FIG. 1, the unwinding roll 2 includes a roll
shaft 2a which winds the thin workpiece W and a driving source 8,
such as a motor, coupled to the roll shaft 2a and configured to
rotate the roll shaft 2a. The driving source 8 is provided with a
control unit (not shown) configured to control a rotation speed of
the roll shaft 2a. The control unit basically controls the rotation
speed of the roll shaft 2a to be substantially constant and
maintains an unwinding speed (a feed speed) of the thin workpiece W
unwound from the unwinding roll 2 to be constant. Note that the
above-described ultra-thin glass, resin sheet, or the like are used
as the thin workpiece W.
[0025] As shown in FIG. 2, the unwinding roll 2 and the driving
source 8 are movably provided on a fixed base 9 installed at a
floor in a direction perpendicular to an unwinding direction of the
unwinding roll 2, that is, in a direction along a lengthwise
direction of the roll shaft 2a. In other words, a pair of linear
motion guides 10 are disposed on the fixed base 9 in parallel with
the roll shaft 2a, and a moving frame 11 is movably attached to the
pair of linear motion guides 10. In addition, as shown in FIG. 1,
the driving source 8 and the unwinding roll 2 coupled to the
driving source 8 are mounted on the moving frame 11. Also, as shown
in FIG. 2, an unwinding position correction unit 12 is provided
between the pair of linear motion guides 10 and 10 on the fixed
base 9.
[0026] The unwinding position correction unit 12 is formed by a
linear motor mechanism and a ball screw mechanism and accurately
reciprocates the moving frame 11 along the pair of linear motion
guides 10 and 10. The unwinding position correction unit 12 is
provided with a control unit (not shown). The unwinding position
correction unit 12 moves the unwinding roll 2 on the moving frame
11 in the direction perpendicular to the unwinding direction based
on a detection result of a first position sensor through the
control unit as will be described below. Thus, an unwinding
position is corrected. In other words, an unwinding position
correction mechanism (a first correction mechanism) related to the
present disclosure is constituted by the control unit and the
unwinding position correction unit 12.
[0027] A height adjustment roller 14 is disposed downstream from
the unwinding roll 2 on a support table section 13 provided on the
moving frame 11. The height adjustment roller 14 is a conveyance
roller configured to convey the thin workpiece W unwound from the
unwinding roll 2 and has an upper end arranged slightly higher than
a conveyance surface of the conveyance path 3. With such a
constitution, the height adjustment roller 14 conveys the thin
workpiece W unwound from the unwinding roll 2 on the conveyance
surface of the conveyance path 3.
[0028] The conveyance path 3 is disposed downstream from the height
adjustment roller 14, and includes a plurality of elongate
plate-like conveyance units 15 arranged and disposed in a
conveyance direction of the thin workpiece W as shown in FIG. 1.
The conveyance units 15 have a known constitution such as a
floating type unit in which an object is floated by discharging
air, a free roller conveyor type unit, and a belt conveyor type
unit.
[0029] In the embodiment, the floating type unit is adopted because
it is preferable to convey the product quality area in the
noncontact manner not to directly hold the product quality area
which is on the central portion in the width direction of the thin
workpiece W in particular. In other words, in the free roller
conveyor type unit and the belt conveyor type unit, a lower surface
of the thin workpiece W is likely to rub against a conveyor (the
conveyance path) when the thin workpiece W is moved in the width
direction thereof by performing position correction to be described
below. The floating type conveyance units 15 include a plurality of
air discharging holes (not shown) provided at upper surfaces
thereof and an air supply source connected to the air discharging
holes through pipes so that a predetermined amount of air is
discharged from the air discharging holes. Thus, the thin workpiece
W is floated above the upper surfaces of the conveyance units 15
(the conveyance path 3).
[0030] As shown in FIG. 1, first clamp rails 16 and second clamp
rails 17 are disposed at both sides of the conveyance path 3 in the
conveyance direction of the conveyance path 3. Note that, in FIG.
2, the first clamp rails 16 and the second clamp rails 17 are not
illustrated. The fixed holding members 4 are provided upstream (a
side of the unwinding roll 2) from the first clamp rails 16, and
the first movable holding members 5 are provided downstream from
the fixed holding members 4.
[0031] The fixed holding members 4 are fixed to the first clamp
rails 16 via attachment members (not shown). In other words, the
fixed holding members 4 are fixed without moving in a lengthwise
direction (the conveyance direction of the conveyance path 3) of
the first clamp rails 16. Note that the fixed holding members 4 may
be fixed to, for example, the conveyance units 15 (the conveyance
path 3), or the like via the attachment members (not shown) without
being attached to the first clamp rails 16.
[0032] As shown in FIG. 3, each of the fixed holding members 4 is a
general clamp having a lower plate 4a and an upper plate 4b. The
lower plate 4a and the upper plate 4b are formed to be capable of
being connected to and separated from each other as indicated by
arrow A of FIG. 3 using an air cylinder (not shown) so that they
detachably hold the thin workpiece W. Here, sites holding the thin
workpiece W are tips of the lower plate 4a and the upper plate 4b.
Thus, the fixed holding members 4 directly hold only the end
sections at both sides serving as the non-product quality area
without directly holding the product quality area of the thin
workpiece W.
[0033] As shown in FIG. 4, each of the first movable holding
members 5 is also a general clamp having a lower plate 5a and an
upper plate 5b. The lower plate 5a and the upper plate 5b are
formed to be capable of being connected to and separated from each
other like the fixed holding member 4 using an air cylinder (not
shown) so that they detachably hold the thin workpiece W. The first
movable holding members 5 directly hold only the end sections at
both sides serving as the non-product quality area without directly
holding the product quality area of the thin workpiece W like the
fixed holding members 4.
[0034] Also, the pair of first movable holding members 5 are
attached to the first clamp rails 16 to be able to reciprocate. In
other words, the pair of first movable holding members 5 can
reciprocate in the lengthwise direction (the conveyance direction
of the conveyance path 3) of the first clamp rails 16. Here, each
of the first clamp rails 16 includes, for example, a ball screw
mechanism and a linear motor mechanism. Thus, a moving speed and a
moving distance of the pair of first movable holding members 5 are
accurately controlled.
[0035] As shown in FIG. 1, the second clamp rails 17 are provided
with the second movable holding members 7. The second movable
holding member 7 are constituted like the first movable holding
members 5 shown in FIG. 4 and are movably attached to the second
clamp rails 17. In other words, the second movable holding members
7 can reciprocate in a lengthwise direction (the conveyance
direction of the conveyance path 3) of the second clamp rails 17.
Note that the second movable holding members 7 also directly hold
only the end sections at both sides serving as the non-product
quality area without directly holding the product quality area of
the thin workpiece W like the fixed holding members 4 and the first
movable holding members 5. Each of the second clamp rails 17 also
includes a ball screw mechanism and a linear motor mechanism like
the first clamp rails 16. Thus, a moving speed and a moving
distance of the second movable holding members 7 are also
accurately controlled.
[0036] Also, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the conveyor device 1, a
holding frame 18 is provided at a side of the unwinding roll 2 of
the conveyance path 3, and the holding frame 18 is provided with
the cutting device 6. The cutting device 6 is disposed above the
conveyance path 3 downstream from the fixed holding members 4, and
vertically and horizontally moves a cutting blade, for example, to
cut the thin workpiece W in the width direction thereof. This
cutting device 6 is controlled such that the thin workpiece W is
conveyed while tip-side end sections at both sides of the thin
workpiece W are held by the first movable holding members 5, a
position of the unwinding roll 2 is corrected, and the cutting
device 6 cuts the thin workpiece W while end sections at both sides
of a rear end side (a side of the unwinding roll 2) of the thin
workpiece W are held by the fixed holding members 4 as will be
described below.
[0037] Also, a first position sensor 19 is provided between the
unwinding roll 2 and the first movable holding members 5. To be
specific, the first position sensor 19 is provided at the holding
frame 18 near the height adjustment roller 14 downstream from the
height adjustment roller 14. The first position sensor 19 detects a
position in the width direction of the thin workpiece W fed from
the unwinding roll 2. In the embodiment, the first position sensor
19 detects an edge position of one side of the thin workpiece W and
detects a shift amount, that is, a shifted direction and a shift
length (a distance) from a preset position.
[0038] The first position sensor 19 is connected to the control
unit of the unwinding position correction unit 12 constituting the
unwinding position correction mechanism and transmits a detected
shift amount to the control unit as an electrical signal. With such
a constitution, in the unwinding position correction mechanism, the
control unit controls the unwinding position correction unit 12
based on the detection result of the first position sensor 19 so
that a position of the unwinding roll 2 in a direction
perpendicular to the unwinding direction is corrected. In other
words, the unwinding position correction mechanism moves the
unwinding roll 2 by a length (a distance) which is substantially
equal to a length shifted in a direction opposite to a direction in
which the thin workpiece W is shifted.
[0039] Here, since a position of the first position sensor 19 and a
position of the unwinding roll 2 are at different positions in a
lengthwise direction of the thin workpiece W, it is preferable to
slightly differentiate a shift amount detected by the first
position sensor 19 and a correction amount for the unwinding roll 2
in consideration of the difference between the positions.
Therefore, such a relationship between the "shift amount" and the
"correction amount" is acquired by a pre-calculation, or the like,
and the control unit determines a correction amount (a movement
amount) of the unwinding roll 2 with respect to the shift amount
detected by the first position sensor 19 based on the calculation
formula or the like.
[0040] As shown in FIG. 2, in the conveyor device 1, a transfer
device 20 is disposed above a downstream side of the conveyance
path 3. The transfer device 20 absorptively-holds each cut thin
workpiece W conveyed downstream from the conveyance path 3 by the
second movable holding members 7, transfers the thin workpiece W to
a storage section (not shown) disposed in the vicinity (for
example, a lateral side) of the conveyance path 3, and detaches the
thin workpiece W and displaces and stores it in the storage section
as will be described below.
[0041] Next, an operation of the conveyor device 1 with such a
constitution will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, a thin
workpiece W is first fed (unwound) from the unwinding roll 2, and
tip-side end sections at both sides of the thin workpiece W are
held by the first movable holding members 5. At this time, the thin
workpiece W is not yet held by the fixed holding members 4. In the
embodiment, when the thin workpiece W is held by the first movable
holding members 5, the end sections at both sides closer to the
unwinding roll 2 than the tip of the thin workpiece W are held at
the tip side of the thin workpiece W by the first movable holding
members 5 by a preset length.
[0042] As described above, the thin workpiece W is held by the
first movable holding members 5 such that the preset length is
maintained. This is because the tip-side end sections at both sides
of the thin workpiece W can be held such that the second movable
holding members 7 do not interfere with the first movable holding
members 5 when the thin workpiece W is delivered to the second
movable holding members 7 as will be described below. Therefore,
the preset length is set to a length longer than lengths of the
lower plates and the upper plates (a length in the conveyance
direction of the thin workpiece W) of the second movable holding
members 7.
[0043] Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the first movable holding members
5 are moved downstream from the conveyance path 3 along the first
clamp rails 16, and the thin workpiece W is caused to travel on the
conveyance path 3. Thus, a portion of the tip side of the thin
workpiece W passes under the cutting device 6. As described above,
when the thin workpiece W is caused to travel on the conveyance
path 3 by the first movable holding members 5, the first position
sensor 19 (refer to FIG. 2) detects the edge position of one side
of the thin workpiece W and detects a shift amount from the preset
position. Thus, when the thin workpiece W is shifted at the time of
the unwinding or the thin workpiece W is meandered and travels on
the conveyance path 3 to be shifted in the width direction with
respect to the preset position, the shift amount from the preset
position can be continuously detected in real time.
[0044] In the unwinding position correction mechanism, the control
unit continuously controls the unwinding position correction unit
12 based on the detection result of the first position sensor 19 so
that position correction in the direction perpendicular to the
unwinding direction is performed on the unwinding roll 2 as
described above. Thus, the position shift of the thin workpiece W
due to meandering, or the like is corrected, and the thin workpiece
W straightly moves on the conveyance path 3 as previously set.
[0045] As described above, when the first movable holding members 5
are moved downstream from the conveyance path 3 along the first
clamp rails 16 and the thin workpiece W is caused to travel on the
conveyance path 3 and the first movable holding members 5 reach the
preset position, movement of the first movable holding members 5
stops and the travelling of the thin workpiece W stops. Thus, the
position correction of the unwinding roll 2, which is continuously
performed by the unwinding position correction mechanism, also
stops once.
[0046] As described above, when the travelling of the thin
workpiece W stops and the position correction of the unwinding roll
2, which is continuously performed until then by the unwinding
position correction mechanism, also stops, position shifts of the
thin workpiece W are continuously corrected so that the thin
workpiece W is held in a normal state in which the thin workpiece W
does not have position shift with respect to the conveyance path 3.
In other words, the thin workpiece W is held in the normal state in
which the thin workpiece W is previously set with respect to the
cutting device 6. Thus, the end sections at both sides of a side of
the unwinding roll 2 of the thin workpiece W in such a normal state
are held by the fixed holding members 4.
[0047] Also, the tip-side end sections at both sides of the thin
workpiece W are also held by the second movable holding members 7
separate from the holding of the thin workpiece W by the fixed
holding members 4. In other words, the end sections at both sides
closer to the tip side thereof than the end sections at both sides
held by the first movable holding members 5 are held by the second
movable holding members 7. Subsequently, the thin workpiece W is
cut by the cutting device 6 in the width direction thereof. In
other words, the thin workpiece W is cut along a cut line 35
indicated by a broken line in FIG. 7.
[0048] As described above, when the thin workpiece W is cut, the
cutting blade of the cutting device 6 is raised, the holding of the
cut thin workpiece W by the first movable holding members 5 is
released, and the first movable holding members 5 are moved to
initial positions of sides of the fixed holding members 4 and hold
the tip-side end sections at both sides of the subsequent thin
workpiece W held by the fixed holding members 4 as shown in FIG. 8.
On the other hand, the second movable holding members 7 are moved
toward the downstream side in the conveyance direction so that the
cut thin workpiece W is further caused to travel (conveyed) on the
conveyance path 3.
[0049] When the second movable holding members 7 convey the cut
thin workpiece W up to a predetermined position and stop, the
transfer device 20 shown in FIG. 2 is moved down and
absorptively-holds the thin workpiece W and the holding of the thin
workpiece W by the second movable holding members 7 is released.
Also, the transfer device 20 is moved, for example, to the lateral
side of the conveyance path 3 as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 1,
and the thin workpiece W is transferred to the storage section (not
shown).
[0050] The second movable holding members 7 are moved up to a
delivery place of the thin workpiece W shown in FIG. 5 while the
cut thin workpiece W is transferred by the transfer device 20 as
described above. After that, processes illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 8
are sequentially iterated. In other words, thin workpieces W wound
on the unwinding roll 2 are each sequentially unwound, the thin
workpiece W is cut at a predetermined dimension, the cut thin
workpiece W is conveyed, and the cut thin workpiece W is
transferred by the transfer device 20 so that the cut thin
workpieces W are sequentially stored in the storage section.
[0051] The conveyor device 1 in the embodiment includes the
unwinding position correction mechanism configured to correct the
position of the unwinding roll 2 in the direction perpendicular to
the unwinding direction based on the detection result of the first
position sensor 19. Thus, when the thin workpiece W is shifted or
meandered at the time of the unwinding, and the thin workpiece W is
shifted in the width direction with respect to the preset position,
the position shift of the thin workpiece W is detected by the first
position sensor 19 so that the position shift of the thin workpiece
W can be corrected by the unwinding position correction mechanism
configured to correct the position of the unwinding roll 2.
Therefore, the thin workpiece W can be accurately cut at a desired
dimension by the cutting device 6.
[0052] In the conveyor device 1 in the embodiment, the pair of
first movable holding members 5 detachably hold the tip-side end
sections at both sides of the thin workpiece W, and the pair of
second movable holding members 7 detachably hold the end sections
at both sides closer to the tip side thereof than the end sections
at both sides held by the first movable holding members 5 at the
tip side of the thin workpiece W conveyed by the first movable
holding members 5. Thus, the thin workpiece W can be substantially
conveyed in the noncontact manner by directly holding only the end
sections at both sides serving as the non-product quality area
without directly holding the product quality area of the thin
workpiece W. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the product
quality area from being contaminated due to adhesion of foreign
substances, or the like.
[0053] Next, a second embodiment of the conveyor device related to
the present disclosure will be described. The conveyor device in
the second embodiment is mainly different from the conveyor device
1 in the first embodiment in that the fixed holding members 4 are
provided with a fixed holding member position correction mechanism
(a second correction mechanism). As shown in FIG. 9, the fixed
holding members 4 related to the second embodiment are provided
with a U-shaped coupling member 21 connected to rear sides thereof
and passing under the conveyance path 3. In other words, the pair
of fixed holding members 4 are attached to both end sides of the
U-shaped coupling member 21 to be coupled via the coupling member
21.
[0054] A pair of travelling sections 21a are integrally provided
under the coupling member 21. The pair of travelling sections 21a
are attached to a fixed rail 22 disposed under the conveyance path
3 to be able to reciprocate. The fixed rail 22 is formed to be
extended in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction
of the thin workpiece W, that is, the width direction of the thin
workpiece W through the conveyance path 3 and includes a linear
motor mechanism and a ball screw mechanism.
[0055] Also, the fixed rail 22 or the coupling member 21 is
provided with the driving source 23, and the coupling member 21 is
caused to accurately reciprocate on the fixed rail 22 according to
an operation of the driving source 23. Therefore, the pair of fixed
holding members 4 attached to the coupling member 21 and coupled to
each other are caused to accurately reciprocate on the fixed rail
22 according to the operation of the driving source 23 while
maintaining a distance between each other.
[0056] The driving source 23 is provided with a control unit 24,
and the control unit 24 is electrically connected to the first
position sensor 19. The control unit 24 has the same function as
the control unit of the unwinding position correction unit 12
constituting the unwinding position correction mechanism and moves
the pair of fixed holding members 4 attached to the coupling member
21 in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of
the thin workpiece W (in the width direction of the thin workpiece
W) along the fixed rail 22 by operating the driving source 23 based
on the detection result of the first position sensor 19. Thus,
position correction of the pair of fixed holding members 4 is
performed. In other words, the fixed holding member position
correction mechanism configured to correct positions of the pair of
fixed holding members 4 is constituted by the control unit 24, the
driving source 23, the fixed rail 22, the coupling member 21, or
the like.
[0057] In the embodiment, the control unit of the unwinding
position correction unit 12 corrects the position of the unwinding
roll 2 in the direction perpendicular to the unwinding direction
after the travelling of the thin workpiece W stops and after the
thin workpiece W is held by the fixed holding members 4 as well as
while the thin workpiece W is caused to travel by the first movable
holding members 5.
[0058] The conveyor device in the embodiment also operates in
substantially the same manner as the conveyor device 1 shown in
FIGS. 1 and 2. In other words, as shown in FIG. 5, a thin workpiece
W is fed (unwound) from the unwinding roll 2, and tip-side sections
at both sides of the thin workpiece W are held by the first movable
holding members 5. Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the first movable
holding members 5 are moved toward the downstream side of the
conveyance path 3 along the first clamp rails 16, and thus the thin
workpiece W is caused to travel on the conveyance path 3.
[0059] As described above, the first position sensor 19 detects an
edge position of one side of the thin workpiece W and detects a
shift amount from the preset position when the thin workpiece W is
caused to travel on the conveyance path 3 by the first movable
holding members 5. Thus, shift amounts in the width direction of
the thin workpiece W are each continuously detected in real time.
Also, the control unit continuously controls the unwinding position
correction unit 12 based on the detection result of the first
position sensor 19 so that the unwinding position correction
mechanism performs the position correction of the unwinding roll 2
in the direction perpendicular to the unwinding direction. Thus, a
position shift of the thin workpiece W due to meandering, or the
like is corrected, and the thin workpiece W straightly moves on the
conveyance path 3 as previously set.
[0060] As described above, when the first movable holding members 5
are moved toward the downstream side of the conveyance path 3 along
the first clamp rails 16 and the thin workpiece W is caused to
travel on the conveyance path 3 and the first movable holding
members 5 reach the preset position, movement of the first movable
holding members 5 stops and the travelling of the thin workpiece W
stops. Thus, the position correction of the unwinding roll 2, which
is continuously performed by the unwinding position correction
mechanism, also stops once.
[0061] After that, the end sections at both sides of the side of
the unwinding roll 2 of the thin workpiece W are held by the fixed
holding members 4. Also, the tip-side end sections at both sides of
the thin workpiece W are also held by the second movable holding
members 7. Subsequently, the position shift of the thin workpiece W
held by the fixed holding members 4 is finally corrected before
cutting. To be specific, as indicated by arrow B of a chain double
dashed line in FIG. 7, the positions of the pair of fixed holding
members 4 in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance
direction of the thin workpiece W are corrected by the fixed
holding member position correction mechanism. Thus, the position
shift of the thin workpiece W held by the fixed holding members 4
due to meandering, etc. is finally corrected, and the thin
workpiece W is held in a normal state in which it is previously set
with respect to the cutting device 6.
[0062] In the embodiment, as described above, the position of the
unwinding roll 2 in the direction perpendicular to the unwinding
direction is also corrected by the unwinding position correction
mechanism at the same time as when the position correction of the
pair of fixed holding members 4 is performed by the fixed holding
member position correction mechanism. Thus, it is possible to
prevent torsion of the thin workpiece W from being generated at a
portion of a side of the unwinding roll 2 in a portion of the tip
side of the thin workpiece W held by the first movable holding
members 5.
[0063] In other words, when only the pair of fixed holding members
4 are simply moved in the width direction thereof, the unwinding
roll 2 is fixed so that torsion is likely to occur at the thin
workpiece W. However, as described above, the position correction
of the unwinding roll 2 by the unwinding position correction
mechanism is also performed simultaneously with the position
correction of the fixed holding members 4 by the fixed holding
member position correction mechanism so that the torsion of the
thin workpiece W can be reliably prevented.
[0064] Here, since the fixed holding member position correction
mechanism and the unwinding position correction mechanism perform
the position corrections based on the same detection result by the
first position sensor 19, the fixed holding members 4 and the
unwinding roll 2 are basically moved by substantially identical
lengths in the same direction. In other words, since sites of the
thin workpiece W held by the fixed holding members 4 and sites of
the thin workpiece W wound on the unwinding roll 2 are moved in the
same direction, torsion does not occur at the tip side of the thin
workpiece W, in particular, between the fixed holding members 4 and
the unwinding roll 2.
[0065] Note that positions of the fixed holding members 4 and a
position of the unwinding roll 2 are at different positions in the
lengthwise direction of the thin workpiece W. It is preferable to
slightly differentiate a position correction amount of the fixed
holding members 4 and a position correction amount of the unwinding
roll 2 based on a detection value of the first position sensor 19
in consideration of the difference between the positions. A
difference between the position correction amount of the fixed
holding members 4 and the position correction amount of the
unwinding roll 2 is acquired by a pre-calculation, or the like, and
the position correction amount of each of the fixed holding member
position correction mechanism and the unwinding position correction
mechanism is determined based on the calculation formula or the
like.
[0066] As described above, when the position shift of the thin
workpiece W is finally corrected, the thin workpiece W is cut by
the cutting device 6 in the width direction thereof. In other
words, the thin workpiece W is cut along the cut line 35 indicated
by the broken line in FIG. 7.
[0067] Subsequently, the cutting blade of the cutting device 6 is
raised, the holding of the cut thin workpiece W by the first
movable holding members 5 is released, and the first movable
holding members 5 are moved to the initial positions of the sides
of the fixed holding members 4 and hold the tip-side end sections
at both sides of the subsequent thin workpiece W held by the fixed
holding members 4 as shown in FIG. 8. On the other hand, the second
movable holding members 7 are moved downstream in the conveyance
direction so that the cut thin workpiece W is further caused to
travel (conveyed) on the conveyance path 3.
[0068] Also, when the second movable holding members 7 convey the
cut thin workpiece W up to a predetermined position and stop, the
transfer device 20 shown in FIG. 2 is moved down and
absorption-holds the cut thin workpiece W and the holding of the
cut thin workpiece W by the second movable holding members 7 is
released. Also, the transfer device 20 is moved, for example, to
the lateral side of the conveyance path 3 so that the cut thin
workpiece W is moved to the lateral side thereof as indicated by
the arrow in FIG. 1. Thus, the cut thin workpiece W is transferred
to the storage section (not shown).
[0069] In addition, the second movable holding members 7 are moved
up to the delivery place of the thin workpiece W shown in FIG. 5
while the cut thin workpiece W is transferred by the transfer
device 20 as described above. After that, the processes illustrated
in FIGS. 5 to 8 are sequentially iterated so that thin workpieces W
wound on the unwinding roll 2 are each sequentially unwound, the
thin workpiece W is cut at a predetermined dimension, cut thin
workpieces W are each conveyed, and the cut thin workpieces W are
sequentially stored in the storage section by transferring the cut
thin workpieces W using the transfer device 20.
[0070] The conveyor device in the embodiment also includes the
unwinding position correction mechanism for correcting the position
of the unwinding roll 2 in the direction perpendicular to the
unwinding direction based on the detection result of the first
position sensor 19. Thus, when the thin workpiece W is shifted or
meandered at the time of the unwinding, and thus the thin workpiece
W is shifted in the width direction with respect to the preset
position, the position shift of the thin workpiece W is detected by
the first position sensor 19 so that the position shift of the thin
workpiece W can be corrected by the unwinding position correction
mechanism configured to correct the position of the unwinding roll
2.
[0071] Since the conveyor device in the embodiment includes the
fixed holding member position correction mechanism for correcting
the positions of the fixed holding members 4 based on the detection
result of the first position sensor 19, final position correction
can be performed on the thin workpiece W which stops before
cutting. Thus, the thin workpiece W can be cut by the cutting
device 6 to a desired dimension with higher accuracy.
[0072] In the conveyor device in the embodiment, the position of
the unwinding roll 2 is corrected by the unwinding position
correction mechanism in cooperation with the fixed holding member
position correction mechanism when the position of the thin
workpiece W is corrected by the fixed holding member position
correction mechanism after the fixed holding members 4 hold the
thin workpiece W. Thus, torsion can be prevented from occurring at
the thin workpiece W.
[0073] In the conveyor device in the embodiment, the position of
the unwinding roll 2 is corrected by the unwinding position
correction mechanism in cooperation with the fixed holding member
position correction mechanism when the position of the thin
workpiece W is corrected by the fixed holding member position
correction mechanism. However, basically, since the position
correction of the thin workpiece W is performed by the unwinding
position correction mechanism when the thin workpiece W is conveyed
by the first movable holding members 5, the position correction
amount of the thin workpiece W by the fixed holding member position
correction mechanism is small in many cases. Therefore, the
position correction of the unwinding roll 2 by the unwinding
position correction mechanism in cooperation with the fixed holding
member position correction mechanism can be omitted when the
position correction amount of the thin workpiece W by the fixed
holding member position correction mechanism is small as described
above.
[0074] Next, a third embodiment of the conveyor device related to
the present disclosure will be described. The conveyor device in
the third embodiment is mainly different from the conveyor device 1
in the second embodiment in that the first movable holding members
5 is provided with a movable holding member position correction
mechanism (a third correction mechanism) instead of the fixed
holding members 4 including the fixed holding member position
correction mechanism (the second correction mechanism).
[0075] As shown in FIG. 10, the first movable holding members 5
related to the third embodiment are provided with a U-shaped
coupling member 25 connected to rear sides thereof and passing
under the conveyance path 3. In other words, the pair of first
movable holding members 5 are attached to both sides of the
U-shaped coupling member 25 to be coupled via the coupling member
25.
[0076] A pair of travelling sections 25a are integrally provided
under the coupling member 25. The pair of travelling sections 25a
are coupled to a moving rail 26 disposed under the conveyance path
3 to be able to reciprocate. The moving rail 26 is formed to be
extended in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction
of the thin workpiece W, that is, the width direction of the thin
workpiece W through the conveyance path 3 and includes a linear
motor mechanism and a ball screw mechanism.
[0077] Also, a pair of travelling sections 26a are provided under
the moving rail 26, and the pair of travelling sections 26a are
disposed in the conveyance direction of the thin workpiece W
through the conveyance path 3, that is, in parallel with the first
clamp rails 16 and are disposed on guide rails 27 fixed to the
floor, or the like. With such a constitution, the travelling
sections 26a can travel in a lengthwise direction of the guide
rails 27 and cannot travel in a direction perpendicular to the
guide rails 27. Therefore, the moving rail 26 having the travelling
sections 26a does not move in the direction perpendicular to the
guide rails 27 and is fixed.
[0078] Also, the moving rail 26 or the coupling member 25 is
provided with the driving source 28, and the coupling member 25 is
caused to accurately reciprocate on the moving rail 26 according to
an operation of the driving source 28. Therefore, the pair of first
movable holding members 5 attached to the coupling member 25 and
coupled to each other are caused to accurately reciprocate on the
moving rail 26 according to the operation of the driving source 28
while maintaining a distance between each other.
[0079] The first movable holding members 5 reciprocate on the first
clamp rails 16 in the lengthwise direction thereof, that is, the
conveyance direction of the conveyance path 3. At this time, as
described above, since the travelling sections 26a of the moving
rail 26 to which the travelling sections 25a of the coupling member
25 are coupled can travel on the guide rails 27, the first movable
holding members 5 move in the lengthwise direction of the first
clamp rails 16, that is, the conveyance direction of the thin
workpiece W together with the coupling member 25 and the moving
rail 26.
[0080] The driving source 28 is provided with a control unit 29,
and the control unit 29 is electrically connected to a second
position sensor 31 to be described below. Since the control unit 29
has the same function as the control unit 24 constituting the fixed
holding member position correction mechanism, the driving source 28
is operated based on a detection result of the second position
sensor 31, and the pair of first movable holding members 5 attached
to the coupling member 25 are moved in the direction perpendicular
to the conveyance direction of the thin workpiece W (in the width
direction of the thin workpiece W) along the moving rail 26. Thus,
position correction of the pair of first movable holding members 5
is performed. In other words, the movable holding member position
correction mechanism (the third correction mechanism) configured to
correct the positions of the pair of the first movable holding
members is constituted by the control unit 29, the driving source
28, the moving rail 26, the coupling member 25, etc.
[0081] In one of the first movable holding members 5, a movable
member 30 is provided near the one first movable holding member 5
and closer to the unwinding roll 2 than the corresponding first
movable holding member 5 (an upstream side in the conveyance
direction of the thin workpiece W). The movable member 30 moves on
one of the first clamp rails 16 by being accompanied by the first
movable holding member 5 with respect to movement on the first
clamp rail 16 of the first movable holding member 5 in the vicinity
thereof, but does not move in the width direction of the thin
workpiece W without being accompanied by the first movable holding
member 5 with respect to movement in the width direction of the
thin workpiece W to be described below.
[0082] The second position sensor 31 is provided on the upper part
of the movable member 30. The second position sensor 31 detects a
position in the width direction of the thin workpiece W held by the
first movable holding members 5. In other words, the second
position sensor 31 detects an edge position of one side of the thin
workpiece W like the first position sensor 19 and detects a shift
amount, that is, a shift direction and a shift length (a distance)
from a preset position.
[0083] Also, the second position sensor 31 is electrically
connected to the control unit 29 constituting the movable holding
member position correction mechanism and transmits a detected shift
amount to the control unit 29 as an electrical signal. With such a
constitution in the movable holding member position correction
mechanism, the control unit 29 operates the driving source 28 and
performs position correction of the pair of first movable holding
members 5 attached to the coupling member 25 based on a detection
result of the second position sensor 31.
[0084] The conveyor device in the embodiment also operates in
substantially the same manner as the conveyor device 1 illustrated
in FIGS. 1 and 2. In other words, as shown in FIG. 5, a thin
workpiece W is fed (unwound) from the unwinding roll 2, and
tip-side end sections at both sides of the thin workpiece W are
held by the first movable holding members 5. Next, as shown in FIG.
6, the first movable holding members 5 are moved toward the
downstream side of the conveyance path 3 along the first clamp
rails 16, and thus the thin workpiece W is caused to travel on the
conveyance path 3.
[0085] The first position sensor 19 detects an edge position of one
side of the thin workpiece W and detects a shift amount from the
preset position when the thin workpiece W is caused to travel on
the conveyance path 3 by the first movable holding members 5 as
described above. Thus, shift amounts in the width direction of the
thin workpiece W are each continuously detected in real time. Also,
in the unwinding position correction mechanism, the control unit
continuously controls the unwinding position correction unit 12
based on the detection result of the first position sensor 19 to
perform the position correction of the unwinding roll 2 in the
direction perpendicular to the unwinding direction thereof. Thus, a
position shift of the thin workpiece W due to meandering, or the
like is corrected, and the thin workpiece W straightly moves on the
conveyance path 3 as previously set.
[0086] As described above, when the first movable holding members 5
are moved toward the downstream side of the conveyance path 3 along
the first clamp rails 16 and the thin workpiece W is caused to
travel on the conveyance path 3 and the first movable holding
members 5 reach the preset position, movement of the first movable
holding members 5 stops and the travelling of the thin workpiece W
stops. Thus, the position correction of the unwinding roll 2, which
is continuously performed by the unwinding position correction
mechanism, also stops once.
[0087] After that, the end sections at both sides of the side of
the unwinding roll 2 of the thin workpiece W are held by the fixed
holding members 4. In the embodiment, as indicated by a chain
double dashed line in FIG. 6, the tip-side end sections at both
sides of the thin workpiece W are not held by the second movable
holding members 7 at this stage. Subsequently, the position shift
of the thin workpiece W held by the fixed holding members 4 is
finally corrected before cutting. To be specific, as indicated by
arrow C of a chain double dashed line in FIG. 7, the positions of
the pair of first movable holding members 5 in the direction
perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the thin workpiece W
are corrected by the movable holding member position correction
mechanism.
[0088] In other words, an edge position at a slightly upstream side
of the tip of the thin workpiece W conveyed while being held by the
first movable holding members 5 is detected by the second position
sensor 31 fixed in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance
direction of the thin workpiece W (the width direction of the thin
workpiece W), and a shift amount of the edge position from the
preset position is detected. Also, the control unit 29 operates the
driving source 28 based on the detection value so that the
positions of the first movable holding members 5 in the direction
perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the thin workpiece W
are corrected as described above. Thus, the position shift of the
thin workpiece W held by the first movable holding members 5 and
the fixed holding members 4 due to meandering or the like is
finally corrected, and the thin workpiece W is held in a normal
state in which it is previously set with regard to the cutting
device 6.
[0089] If the position shift of the thin workpiece W is finally
corrected as described above, the thin workpiece W is cut by the
cutting device 6 in the width direction thereof. In other words,
the thin workpiece W is cut along the cut line 35 indicated by the
broken line in FIG. 7.
[0090] Subsequently, the cutting blade of the cutting device 6 is
raised, the tip-side end sections at both sides of the thin
workpiece W are held by the second movable holding members 7
indicated by a solid line in FIG. 7. Also, the holding of the cut
thin workpiece W by the first movable holding members 5 is
released, and the first movable holding members 5 are moved to the
initial positions of the sides of the fixed holding members 4 and
hold the tip-side end sections at both sides of the subsequent thin
workpiece W held by the fixed holding members 4 as shown in FIG. 8.
On the other hand, the second movable holding members 7 are moved
downstream in the conveyance direction so that the cut thin
workpiece W is further caused to travel (conveyed) on the
conveyance path 3.
[0091] Also, when the second movable holding members 7 conveys the
cut thin workpiece W up to a predetermined position and stops, the
transfer device 20 shown in FIG. 2 is moved down and
absorption-holds the cut thin workpiece W, and the holding of the
thin workpiece W by the second movable holding members 7 is
released. In addition, the transfer device 20 is moved, for
example, to the lateral side of the conveyance path 3 so that the
cut thin workpiece W is moved to the lateral side as indicated by
the arrow in FIG. 1. Thus, the cut thin workpiece W is transferred
to the storage section (not shown).
[0092] The second movable holding members 7 are moved to the
delivery place of the thin workpiece W shown in FIG. 5 while the
cut thin workpiece W is transferred by the transfer device 20 as
described above. After that, the processes illustrated in FIGS. 5
to 8 are sequentially iterated so that thin workpieces W wound on
the unwinding roll 2 are each sequentially unwound, the thin
workpiece W is cut at a predetermined dimension, cut thin
workpieces W are each conveyed, and the cut thin workpieces W are
sequentially stored in the storage section by transferring the cut
thin workpieces W using the transfer device 20.
[0093] The conveyor device in the embodiment also includes the
unwinding position correction mechanism configured to correct the
position of the unwinding roll 2 in the direction perpendicular to
the unwinding direction based on the detection result of the first
position sensor 19. Thus, when the thin workpiece W is shifted or
meandered at the time of the unwinding, and thus the thin workpiece
W is shifted in the width direction with respect to the preset
position, the position shift of the thin workpiece W is detected by
the first position sensor 19 so that the position shift of the thin
workpiece W can be corrected by the unwinding position correction
mechanism configured to correct the position of the unwinding roll
2.
[0094] Also, since the conveyor device in the embodiment includes
the movable holding member position correction mechanism configured
to correct the positions of the first movable holding members 5
based on the detection result of the second position sensor 31, the
final position correction can be performed on the thin workpiece W
which stops before cutting. Thus, the thin workpiece W can be cut
by the cutting device 6 to a desired dimension with higher
accuracy.
[0095] Note that the present disclosure is not limited to the
embodiments and can be modified in various ways without departing
from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the first
position sensor 19 between the unwinding roll 2 and the first
movable holding members 5 is not limited to the position shown in
FIGS. 1 and 2. The first position sensor 19 can be disposed at any
position between the unwinding roll 2 and the first movable holding
members 5. Similarly, the second position sensor 31 can also be
disposed at any position near the positions of the first movable
holding members 5 and closer to the upstream side in the conveyance
direction of the thin workpiece W than the first movable holding
members 5 when the first movable holding members 5 holds the thin
workpiece W to convey it on the conveyance path 3. Also, the fixed
holding member position correction mechanism and the movable
holding member position correction mechanism are not limited to the
structures shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 either but can adopt various
structures.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
[0096] According to the conveyor device of the present disclosure,
the unwinding position correction mechanism configured to correct
the position of an unwinding roll in a direction perpendicular to
an unwinding direction based on a detection result of the first
position sensor is provided. Thus, when a thin workpiece is shifted
or meandered at the time of the unwinding, and thus the thin
workpiece is shifted in a width direction with respect to a preset
position, a position shift of the thin workpiece is detected by the
first position sensor so that the position shift of the thin
workpiece can be corrected by the unwinding position correction
mechanism configured to correct the position of the unwinding roll.
Therefore, the thin workpiece can be accurately cut by the cutting
device at the desired dimension. Also, the tip-side end sections at
both sides of the thin workpiece are detachably held by the pair of
first movable holding members, and the end sections at both sides
closer to the tip side thereof than the end sections at both sides
held by the first movable holding members at the tip side of the
thin workpiece conveyed through the first movable holding members
are detachably held by the pair of second movable holding members.
Thus, the thin workpiece can be conveyed in a substantially
noncontact manner.
* * * * *